Go economy!

[sperry]

Originally Posted by AtomicLabMonkey

They grow cane down south in Louisiana & Florida too, more than in Hawaii actually. And FYI Brazil was able to shift to large scale ethanol consumption in the 1970's relatively quickly because their government was a military dictatorship at the time, which rolled out mandates as well as large subsidies for production.

I was under the impression that only Hawaii had the right year-round climate needed for sugar cane. And that we have retarded high import tariffs on sugar in order to keep the high price on sugar from Hawaii lower than what would be cheaper foreign sugar.

[Libila]

Originally Posted by sperry

I was under the impression that only Hawaii had the right year-round climate needed for sugar cane. And that we have retarded high import tariffs on sugar in order to keep the high price on sugar from Hawaii lower than what would be cheaper foreign sugar.

That's what I thought too, but I don't know...

[Kunikos]

Obviously the answer is we need more creative inventions to spur world-wide consumption like what created the Oreo pizza.

[Double Phister]

Fusion!!
http://www.kqed.org/quest/television/view/842


































well..... maybe someday.

[sperry]

Welp... IGT stock is officially *lower* today than it was 7 years ago when I started working here.

http://finance.google.com/finance?client=ig&q=IGT

With the lay-offs coming, it's nice to know that if I get canned my options are worthless and my 401k is useless!

Hurray for the coming Depression 2.0!

[Nick Koan]

Hooray bailouts!

[AtomicLabMonkey]

Originally Posted by sperry

Hurray for the coming Depression 2.0!

What are you talking about Scott, "The fundamentals of our economy are strong!".

[sybir]

Sorry, buddy

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by sybir

Sorry, buddy

Yeah, sorry to hear that, Scott

[sperry]

What are you guys apologizing for? I sold my original batch of options at $46/share back in Jan to buy my house. The rest of my options have been worthless ever since the stock dropped below around $38, which was months ago.

I'm just pointing out the milestone of IGT's 60% drop in value as an indicator that we're all fucked because the economy finally turned the corner towards impending doom. I can't say I'm all that surprised... the writing has been on the wall since the 80's. You can't create a debt-based economy that must grow geometrically at 3% each year and expect it to last forever. And you especially can't do it with less and less taxes and deregulation of industry, a la "trickle down economics". Feel free to blame Regan, Bush Sr. and Bush Jr.

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by sperry

You can't create a debt-based economy that must grow geometrically at 3% each year and expect it to last forever.

[sperry]

[zpeed]

I've been layoff too. I work with the company for 10 years and they said "Sorry we don't need your service anymore".

[cody]

Ouch. Are you totally screwed, Nat?

[Nick Koan]

Ouch Sorry to hear it Nat.

[sperry]

Man, that sucks Nat.

Where did you work?

[AtomicLabMonkey]

There's plenty of tech companies out here in Cackalack still hiring, for all you software people.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by AtomicLabMonkey

There's plenty of tech companies out here in Cackalack still hiring, for all you software people.

Actually, Lisa was watching some home show and said "we should move to Cary, NC! The houses there are awesome!" She was joking because she thought I'd never consider NC... but I was like, "um... you mean the town Austin lives in? Yeah, we could move there."

The only problem is selling my house here that we just friggen purchased. But if I get canned at IGT, moving is certainly on the table... I'm just going to take a huge bath on this house as all the laid-off IGT people try to sell.

[sperry]

Also, I just wrote our Senator:

Dear Senator Reid,

With nationwide economic hard times on the horizon, I urge you to carefully act with regards to any Congressional bailout plan.

First, I'd like to remind you that the people pleading for Congressional help are the same people that for years have complained that Congressional regulation was stifling their industry. But now after years of risky behavior, when the margin call comes, they would like to throw away the rules of an open and unregulated economy that they fought for and ask for billions of taxpayer's money to cover their failure. It's unfair for the banking industry to reap the rewards for years while the US taxpayers take all the risk. Any bailout plan must be a loan, and not a hand-out. Any bailout plan must be an investment for the taxpayers, and not an expense.

Second, a reminder that in an open economy, bubbles and bursts are a natural part of the cycle. The reason the housing market burst is because there were too many houses built, followed by poor lending practices used to try to artificially increase the housing demand to match the over supply of homes. This action simply delayed the crash and made it a sharper and harder fall. Continuing to prop up this market with $700B in taxpayer money only perpetuates an unsustainable situation. To put it bluntly, housing prices need to crash; homes are overvalued. I would much rather take the hit quickly than to drag out the crash over the next 20 years.

Third, there is a very good chance that the folks like Bernanke and Paulson that are asking for government help may not be doing so in the best interest of America at large. Sure, a bailout will certainly help their industry, and I'm sure from their perspective that's tantamount to "all of America", after all it's all their personal friends and colleagues that are directly effected by this situation. But in the long run, for the majority of Americans, might it not be better to cut our losses and let a failed system sink? If it were up to me, the last people I'd be listening to about how to fix the problem are the people that got us into this problem. People who just weeks ago were touting how confident they were in the system. There are plenty of economists that warned of the disaster potential inherent in the US banking system. How about giving them the chance to build a new system? A system that reduces risk by capping the risk-taker's income, thus promoting more responsible behavior without directing regulating the market.

Fourth, spending $700B to soften the blow of an economic collapse does not necessarily ensure future growth for America. If hard times call for sacrifices, I have no problem with that. Spend $700B of my money, but make sure it's not just to react to a problem, make sure it's used proactively to provide the seeds for future growth. Spend $700B on job creation programs, on alternative energy research. Use that money not to buy up bad loans, but to buy houses from people that can't afford their mortgages, then rent the house back to them at a price they can afford. Let the taxpayers soften the blow on the taxpayers, not give a free pass to the industry that got us in this mess. Let the taxpayer's money create new jobs for taxpayers, not save the jobs of people that paid themselves billions in bonuses over the last decade.

On a more personal note, I'm a Software Engineer working at one of the largest employers in Reno, NV. In the 7 years I've lived and worked in Nevada, I've never really had a hard time making ends meet. I work hard, make a decent living, and haven't really had to pinch pennies since I got out of college. However, with this economic collapse, there is a good chance I will lose my job, as layoffs have already been announced. I will likely not be able to find work in Reno, as the job market will be full of my colleagues all looking for similar work. I will not be able to afford the house I purchased last February, and thus I will add to the downward spiral. I will go from being a successful middle-class American that could responsibly afford his lifestyle to someone that is "part of the problem". And to add insult to injury, I will be writing a nice big check to the government come next April to pay my taxes that will be spent to prop up the folks that own the loan I'll have to default on, rather than keeping the money in my pocket which would allow me to actually continue to pay for my house. If my money has to go towards a program to help the economy, I'd much rather pay towards a program that creates a wind-farm in Washoe Valley where I can get a job writing communication software for windmills, for example.

In summary, our economy is in for hard times and middle-class America is in for a hard ride, regardless of any banking industry bailout. Please ensure that if you're going to spend billions of taxpayer's money, it's not going to be used to prop-up and prolong a failed system, but that it's going to be spent creating future opportunities for economic success. Please say no to a long depression, and let the failed banking industry fail. Sure it will hurt, but it's akin to pulling the bandage off in one quick tug. Invest instead in the future of our economy by creating new jobs with which America can lead the world in exportable clean energy technology.

Sincerely,

Scott Perry
Reno, NV

The thought of a long grueling depression created by trying to bailout an industry that ignored its inherent risk and now wants the taxpayers to foot the cost of their failure because "they're too big and important to fail" has got my hackles up.

[AtomicLabMonkey]

Originally Posted by sperry

Actually, Lisa was watching some home show and said "we should move to Cary, NC! The houses there are awesome!" She was joking because she thought I'd never consider NC... but I was like, "um... you mean the town Austin lives in? Yeah, we could move there."

The only problem is selling my house here that we just friggen purchased. But if I get canned at IGT, moving is certainly on the table... I'm just going to take a huge bath on this house as all the laid-off IGT people try to sell.

What a coincidence. If you guys had to move, at least it would be less expensive out here to get another house.

[Nick Koan]

Scott,

I don't think we're lucky enough to get canned from IGT.

[cody]

Nice letter, Scott. It certainly makes sense to me, but I don't know as much as I should about the details of the proposed bailout.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by cody

Nice letter, Scott. It certainly makes sense to me, but I don't know as much as I should about the details of the proposed bailout.

The most important point IMO is that the guys saying "We need this, and we need it now! Congress, you must do this immediately!" are the same guys that just weeks ago were telling everyone that everything is okay. These are the guys that got us into this mess, why should we trust them to get us out of it? They should all be fired, and all the CEOs of the banking industry leader that paid themselves like $40B in bonuses last year should be sued by the US Gov't for extortion.

The bailout plan is basically a means to prop-up the failing banks to keep them from going out of business. The problem is that they deserve to go out of business. And I don't mean that in a "they suck" or a "greedy rich people should fail" sort of way, but in a "in a free market economy, sometimes risky behavior ends poorly" sort of way. No matter what happens, middle and lower class Americans are going to get boned, while the rich are going to be slightly richer. So why spend billions of taypayer dollars on a bail-out plan that isn't going to have an real tangible benefit on fixing what's wrong w/ the system? All we're doing is pumping money into a broken industry to make its failure take longer.

This bailout is kinda like me continuing to fix my broken racecar instead of just taking the hit, selling it and buying an STi.

[knucklesplitter]

I noticed IGT is putting in a really nice fancy sign at the road entrance to their satellite building next door. They've had contractors on it all week to get it installed and power out to it. Had to cut up the parking lot I think. There was this huge truck with a built in trencher blocking my way into work this morning. Not to rub salt into the layoff wound or anything, but...

[sperry]

Originally Posted by knucklesplitter

I noticed IGT is putting in a really nice fancy sign at the road entrance to their satellite building next door. They've had contractors on it all week to get it installed and power out to it. Had to cut up the parking lot I think. There was this huge truck with a built in trencher blocking my way into work this morning. Not to rub salt into the layoff wound or anything, but...

Yeah, that's our new nifty integration lab where outside customers can bring their equipment to install it in our "virtual casino" to test for compatibility with the new back-end server system we're making.

Basically, we're still spending texas-money on server-based gaming, because we already stacked all our eggs in that basket. Lucky for me, that's what I'm working on. Unlucky for me, IGT really needs lots of new and fun slot machines if it wants to dig itself out of the slump, not a fancy new server... which means if/when they figure that out, I'm in real trouble.